I asked my son about the City Grip on the Sports City and he says it is definite improvement over the previous tire. On Sunday I was chatting with another Sports City rider at the poker run and he said the same thing. He's got over 4,000 miles on his City Grip and says it is only about half way through its thread so he's expecting the same 8,000 miles out of his current one as he got on his last one. Neither have noticed any significant mpg difference between the e130 and 140 tire.

After careful and prolonged debate with myself and looking at the parts of the Scooter Cannonball 2014 route that have been released I've pretty much decided that the Sports City will be the scoot I'll take on it next year. There is apparently a stretch of gravel road which the Sports City handles much better than the Vespa GTS.

130->140 may or may not result in 10mm more, since the rim could be
narrow and pinch the wider tire more, making it higher (which it will be
anyways if you stay with the same height).

More sidewall height = worse handling since the higher tire will bend more.

Higher tire = longer gearing = worse acceleration too.

Even if you DO get more contact patch, that equals to worse MPG figures too.

It's not as simple as 10mm more as long as it fits.
There's a good reason Aprilia put a 130 there.

The stock size is 130/80-15. The only choices available here are the OEM Sava or michelin Pure Power. Neither of these tires last very long. I have been running 130/90-15 cruiser tires. These tires lower RPMs slightly, make the speedo more accurate and are relatively inexpensive. They also increase cornering clearance by raising the rear of the scooter slightly. For me this is important since I push pretty hard on twisty roads. Some people have tried a Metzler me880 140/80-15 on the rear. It lasts a long time but is also more expensive. I have also read that it makes the scooter want to stand up in corners. This is often a problem when you go with a wider tire.

The City grip comes in a 140/70-15. It is wider and also lower profile than the OEM tire. My concerns with this tire are: Speedo will be very innacurate again, and, will it tend to make the scooter stand up in curves? Also, how long will it last. So far the best mileage I have gotten from any rear tire is the 4200 miles on the current Kenda 130/90-15 in the scooter. It is unlikely to make it to 5000 miles as it is nearly due for replacement. I tend to wear out tires much faster than most riders due to the twisty roads I ride.

I will probably try the rear City Grip but haven't decided for sure. First I want to see how I like it on the front.

I had Power Pures on my scoot which is heavier and has almost 50% more
power and after about 3000 miles there was no wear on the rear at all.

SC is lighter, has less power and bigger wheels, all of that makes the tires
last longer.

The road surfaces here are different and temperatures normally higher. Both of these result in faster tire wear. The pure powers are pretty new here but the few reports I saw was that they don't hold up well in high temperatures. I haven't seen any actual mileage reports.

The road surfaces here are different and temperatures normally higher. Both of these result in faster tire wear. The pure powers are pretty new here but the few reports I saw was that they don't hold up well in high temperatures. I haven't seen any actual mileage reports.

They're probably gonna last more then the Pirelli Diablos, despite the "Power Pure" name they're not as "sport" oriented as the Power Pures in the "proper motorcycle" category.

Hi for future reference of people searching, I used tool 'Sealey Universal Pulley & Fan Clutch Holder Set' VS783 which managed to hold both the variator and (using two bolts not supplied) the clutch, to enable me to torque up both bolts correctly using a 3/8" socket set (1/2" won't fit between the arms). pics

I took the SC 250 down to mexico. 700 miles round trip. I've never taken it out of the valley. I hit stop and go in LA traffic. I noticed cruiser bikes passing through with lane splitting. My bike is smaller though 30 mins later I was giving it a try. Works pretty good..

Klav, you have the e52 top box and by the photos. It looks wide to fit a lot ofstuff. Does it protrude out farther then the rear view mirrors? Does it make the profile of the bike wide?
Will it be an issue for lane splitting?
Thx

PS. Top speed on the I5 south got to 150km, it may have reached 160km but I didn't want to press my luck with speeding by a cop. With puig screen and all else stock. 2300 miles on bike now.

Klav, you have the e52 top box and by the photos. It looks wide to fit a lot ofstuff. Does it protrude out farther then the rear view mirrors? Does it make the profile of the bike wide?
Will it be an issue for lane splitting?
Thx

The E52 is not as wide as the mirrors or the handlebars. It shouldn't be an issue for lane splitting.

I had the City Grip front tire mounted today. It made a dramatic difference in the handling. The worn out Sava made the bike handle like crap. Normally I have not issues with worn out tires affecting the handling of my motorcycles very much....except off road of course where worn out knobbies mess up traction. The Sava really messed up the handling of the Sport City long before it was worn out. I won't ever get one of the Sava's again.

I only rode about 15 miles on the City grip but it felt really great, the best front tire so far! Very Light and neutral handling, even with a mostly worn out rear tire.

Ah perfect, Ty so much for this review thread. It helped me decide to get the bike myself. I'll put the city grip on the list. I remember amazon sent me a email about the kendra rear tire for 66 bucks shipping extra. I'm tempted to prematurely replace the tires cause everyone says the ride is night and day better. I have the stock Maxxis. I'm happy to know that the ride can only improve in the future.

Bantha, I'm here is the valley also. How was it riding down I-5? The other thing, 150kph, that's about 90ish mph. I've not tried to max mine out but I'm over 200lbs with gear and the bikes pulls really well to 70mph then at about 75 almost runs out of steam. I also have the PUIG screen and it makes a huge difference.

The two things the bike didn't like was head wind in the mountain pass. The grapevine area I believe. And steep inclines. On the steep inclines I could still maintain 120km. I was wot at that time.

I rode faster than I needed to this trip, next time I'll try And chill more.

The bike is strong to 140km and then if there is no wind,hills, or cars in my way glides up to 150km. I drove the bike for 7 hours straight. I started with 1600(ish) miles and ended up with 2300(ish) miles.

The altitude over the grapevine was 3000 and I don't think the high elevation bothered the horse power output too much.

I learned if you go, favor the left lane as it is of much better quality. The slow lane has a lot of significant imperfections. The fast lane must be repaired more often. Cruising speed was about 130km that is running the same speed as others until you get to San Diego where 140 is normal. This is the fast lane. I'm sure the slow lane was 120-130km

Bike is great for touring and visiting points of interest. Easy to maneuver and get to place a car would find difficult.

Only thing I've done is the engine/gear oil. I need to try to switch out the factory plug as I hear the engine performs smoother with a better spark plug.

I drove it without a top box.

I do have issues with triggering turn light signals, I'll need to research that more.

Also, wearing hearos ear plugs. They are blue and offer 33 decibels and wind noise was still loud. I'd recommend better ear plugs. I have a 100 dollar bilt modular helmet and that could be a factor. I don't know.

I had the City Grip front tire mounted today. It made a dramatic difference in the handling. The worn out Sava made the bike handle like crap. Normally I have not issues with worn out tires affecting the handling of my motorcycles very much....except off road of course where worn out knobbies mess up traction. The Sava really messed up the handling of the Sport City long before it was worn out. I won't ever get one of the Sava's again.

I only rode about 15 miles on the City grip but it felt really great, the best front tire so far! Very Light and neutral handling, even with a mostly worn out rear tire.

I'll report back when I have the chance to ride it some more.

Get that thing on the back too ASAP, it's amazing, other then the usual
stuff (grip & handling), they're more comfortable then anything else I've
had on my scoots.

Ah perfect, Ty so much for this review thread. It helped me decide to get the bike myself. I'll put the city grip on the list. I remember amazon sent me a email about the kendra rear tire for 66 bucks shipping extra. I'm tempted to prematurely replace the tires cause everyone says the ride is night and day better. I have the stock Maxxis. I'm happy to know that the ride can only improve in the future.

Great bike. Thx.

I liked the stock maxxis tires except that the rear only lasted 3200 miles. It's the Sava that I didn't like. It was OK when new but handling deteriorated as it wore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanthaBob

Hey grey,
Also, wearing hearos ear plugs. They are blue and offer 33 decibels and wind noise was still loud. I'd recommend better ear plugs. I have a 100 dollar bilt modular helmet and that could be a factor. I don't know.

Modular helmets tend to be noisy. My Fulmer modular is much noisier than my $50 Bilt full face helmet.

I highly recommend the Howard Leight - Laser Lite ear plugs. I have found them to be the quietest as well as most comfortable ear plugs I have tried. I got a box of 200 on Amazon for around $25.